Los Lunas’ Holland passes the 2,000-point threshold

He’s a junior, with many more hoops to come

It was over 24 hours – between the mid-afternoon finish of Los Lunas High School’s boys basketball home game Saturday against Capital and late Sunday afternoon – before Jalin Holland became aware of Saturday’s significance.

Sure, it was inevitable that he would reach 2,000 career points with the Tigers, but it wasn’t until a Journal reporter informed him Sunday that he realized he was already there.

Holland thought he was still about two dozen points short.

But his 42-point effort Saturday against Capital indeed lifted Holland, Los Lunas’ gifted 6-foot-4 junior guard, past the magic 2,000-point plateau.

He stands at 2,008 points, Tigers coach Travis Julian confirmed.

“It means a lot,” Holland said. “I know a lot of people, they haven’t played as much as I’ve played over these four years.”

Holland, who is averaging 25.5 points this season, has been a mainstay in the Los Lunas starting lineup since he was an eighth-grader. He is New Mexico’s most recruited boys basketball player.

He’s the second player in the metro area to have surpassed 2,000 career points this season. Eldorado’s Bella Hines just reached this milestone three weeks ago, also in her junior season.

The state’s all-time leading scorer is A.J. Lackey of Quemado, with 2,794 points, according to the New Mexico Activities Association’s website. Holland is almost certain to eventually pass La Cueva’s Bryce Alford (2,480) as the metro area’s top career scorer.